ROBERT MONTGOMERY PRESENTS - YOUR LUCKY STRIKE THEATRE FEBRUARY 22, 1954 NO. 95 "LAND OF HAPPINESS" STARRING OSA MASSEN ADAPTED FOR TELEVISION BY SANDRA MICHAEL NBC-TV NETWORK ALTERNATE MONDAYS, 9:30-10:30 PM EST OPENING FADE IN: FILM "ROBERT MONTGOMERY PRESENTS" DISSOLVE TO TELOP #1 "YOUR LUCKY STRIKE THEATRE" DISS TO: BALCONY - PAN TO MONTGOMERY MONTGOMERY Thank you, Bill, and good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Studio 8H in New York and this is "Your Lucky Strike Theatre". In the next hour we will bring you a romantic, heartwarming story called "Land Of Happiness." It stars Miss Osa Massen - a Hollywood actress making her first appearance on this series and John Newland, one of your favorites. Featured with them is a new and promising television actor, Robert Wark. "Land of Happiness" has two settings, in two entirely different worlds. One is the city of Copenhagen, as sophisticated in 1895 - the time of our play - as it is today. The other setting is the Faero Islands that belong to Denmark, but lie far, far away in the wild, cold North Atlantic Ocean. It was to the Faero Islands that a young clergyman in 1895 brought his gay and beautiful Danish bride ... not quite certain in his own heart why it was he had taken her so far away from her own world and people. The story you will see is based on fact, because the original drama, "Land of Happiness" from which Sandra Michael has written the teleplay, was the work of Hans Peter Falk-Ronne.... whose father was the clergyman in our story, and whose mother was the lovely Lis. We'll begin our play in just a moment. First, here is Dorothy Collins, the sweetheart of Lucky Strike, who tells you why more and more smokers enjoy Lucky Strike every day. [...] ["LAND OF HAPPINESS" STARRING OSA MASSEN WITH JOHN NEWLAND AND ROBERT WARK FEATURING ANNE SEYMOUR JANE SEYMOUR DIRECTED BY NORMAN FELTON] ACT I LEAD IN (MONTGOMERY IN CAPE) MONTGOMERY: Act I of "Land of Happiness" starring Osa Massen begins in the drawing room of the Holbeck home in Copenhagen, Denmark. The year is 1895. It's a warm, friendly room - for although Copenhageners take a lively interest in everything the city has to offer, the heart of their life is always their home. The hour is near that cheerful moment when it's time for afternoon coffee. Lis Holbeck should be back now from a shopping trip. ACT ONE SCENE 1: INTERIOR, DAY. THE DRAWING ROOM OF A WELL-TO-DO COPENHAGEN HOME, 1895. INGRID, THE NEAT LITTLE PARLOR MAID, IS SETTING THE COFFEE TABLE. WE HEAR LIS'S VOICE BEFORE SHE ENTERS. SHE HAS SEVERAL LARGE BOXES WHICH SHE CARRIES ON HER TWO OUTSTRETCHED ARMS. LIS Ingrid! Ingrid! (SHE COMES INTO VIEW) The Baroness hasn't been here, I hope? INGRID (MOVING WITH LIS) No, Miss Holbeck, The Baroness hasn't arrived yet. LIS (CROSSING TO TABLE WITH PACKAGES) Oh! Thank goodness! I know I'm horribly late; thank you Ingrid, but I want to leave them here to show to the Baroness. Oh, I almost knocked you over! (SHE SMILINGLY KISSES PORCELAIN DOG) Oh, you can't IMAGINE how lovely the dresses are-- Christophersen REALLY outdid herself this time, the angel. INGRID (SHE HEARS SOMETHING) I think I heard a carriage stopping. LIS (HAS BEEN BUSILY OPENING BOX AND IS JUST PULLING OUT A DRESS) That will be the Baroness - perhaps you'd better see about the coffee. INGRID (SMILING) Yes, thank you, Miss. (AS INGRID LEAVES THE ROOM, LIS RUNS TO THE WINDOWS, SWINGING ONE OF THEM OUT OVER THE STREET, LOOKING DOWN) A CARRIAGE IS HEARD DRIVING OFF (FROM HALLWAY, INGRID'S IN POLITE GREETING: "Good afternoon, Mr. Carstens" FREDRIK'S VOICE, HURRIED AND CURT. "Good afternoon, Ingrid") (HE CROSSES IN) LIS (GOING TOWARD HIM. AFFECTIONATE, PLEASED, SURPRISED. SHE HOLDS OUT BOTH HANDS) Why Fredrik! I was expecting Ellen. What a lovely surprise! FREDRIK Hello, Lis. (HE IS ANNOYED WITH THE NEWS HE HAS HEARD, AND HIS USUAL DEBONAIR MANNER AND SMILE ARE MISSING) HE LOOKS CROSS OR AT ANY RATE, DOUR. TAKES ONLY ONE OF HER PROFFERED HANDS, KISSES IT PERFUNCTORILY, BOWING BRISKLY) LIS I had no idea your ship was in-- FREDRIK No, I suppose you don't have time to read the papers these days. LIS (LAUGHS) As a matter of fact, I don't. Isn't that awful? Here, let me help you with your coat. (TURNS TOWARD HALLWAY) Ingrid? INGRID (COMING IN) Yes, miss. FREDRIK (HALF OUT 0F HIS COAT, LOOKING TOWARD TABLE) But you were expecting someone. LIS It's only Ellen who's coming, she'll be so glad to see, you. Besides - cakes from Otto's, Fredrik! You can't have had anything like that for weeks, no matter how good the cooks may be in His Majesty's Navy. DURING THIS, INGRID HAS TAKEN HIS WRAPS AND IS LEAVING AS HE STRAIGHTENS HIS JACKET, AUTOMATICALLY, AND LOOKS TO SEE THAT INGRID HAS GONE BEFORE HE ADDRESSES LIS: FREDRIK Lis, what the devil is this nonsense I heard about you as soon as I got home today? LIS Nonsense? I haven't the faintest idea, darling. FREDRIK My mother says you've got yourself engaged to Erik Paulsen- Of course it's [not] true! LIS Well, of course it's true! FREDRIK Are we talking about the same Erik Paulsen? LIS Do we know more than one? FREDRIK But Lis! Erik Paulsen is a theological student! LIS Oh, no, he's already an ordained minister. FREDRIK A MINISTER-- LIS I just hope I can live up to the honor and distinction. Do sit down, Fredrik, you're so tall. I'll get tired, talking to you. (SHE EXAGGERATES THE TILT OF HER HEAD, BACKWARD) FREDRIK (STIFFLY) I'm not staying. So don't worry about your neck. LIS (LAUGHS) Oh, Fredrik! What's the MATTER with you today? Come now, please sit down. (SHAKES HIS HEAD AS IF HE WERE DENYING THE POSSIBILITY, FOR HER: ANSWERING HIS OWN QUESTION) FREDRIK You can't mean you're really going to marry the man? LIS Naturally, I'm going to marry him! As soon as Mother and Father get home from the Riviera. FREDRIK Do THEY know about this crazy idea? LIS You don't think I'd be engaged without their consent, I hope. FREDRIK Oh, yes, I do! And I suppose you got their consent FIRST. LIS We-ell, no-o, but very soon afterward. FREDRIK Afterwards. That's what I thought. I imagine they're happy about the prospect of your being married to a minister! (THIS WITH SARCASM) LIS (WITH APPEALING SINCERITY) Oh, I hope so, Fredrik. (BRIGHTLY) Of course, they don't quite like the idea that we're going to live on the Faero Islands. FREDRIK (HE IS ABSOLUTELY THUNDERSTRUCK. HAD SHE SAID THE MOON, HE COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE INCREDULOUS) You're WHAT! LIS Erik is going to have his first parish on the Faeros. (HERE THE BARONESS IS ANNOUNCED, AND LIS INTERRUPTS HERSELF, TURNING) INGRID The Baroness Beau-Guild-- ELLEN (SAILING IN, CHARMING, ASSURED, OFF-HAND) (A WHITE POODLE ON HER ARM) Darling, I'm sorry to be late, I-- well! Fredrik! LIS And Lena! (SHE TAKES THE POODLE, HUGGING IT TO HER) FREDRIK How do you do, Ellen. ELLEN I heard His Majesty's "Ingolf" got in today. Great heavens, how handsome you are, Fredrik, isn't he, Lis? I don't know what there is about gold braid... FREDRIK It obviously can't hold a candle to a clerical collar. ELLEN Oh, is that it? I thought you looked rather overcast. LIS (INTERRUPTING, STEERING HIM TO THE TABLE) Come children, coffee. (INGRID BRINGS IN TRAY WITH PLACE-SETTING FOR FREDRIK, COFFEE AND A PLATTER OF CAKES) ELLEN Thank you, dear. (THEY MOVE TO SIT) LIS May Lena go out to the cook, Ellen. They adore each other. ELLEN (TO DOG) You may go, darling-- but only one cream puff, Miss Pig! (INGRID CARRIES THE DOG OUT) (ELLEN IN ONE BREATH TURNS TO FREDRIK) Now don't be jealous, Fredrik we all know you're madly in love with Lis, but what would we do in Copenhagen if YOU got married? Some men should dedicate their lives to being bachelors. I'm convinced they have a stabilizing effect on marriage ... husbands tend to worry about them, that's not a bad idea for some husbands -- and then a bachelor is SUCH A plum at a dinner party. Oh, what divine cakes. From Otto's, of course? LIS Of course. (LIS HOLDS THE CAKE SPOON TENTATIVELY OVER THE CAKE-PLATTER WHICH OFFERS NAPOLEON SLICES, "SEA-SHELLS" AND ALMOND TARTS) ELLEN (RAISING HER HAND, INDEX FINGER IN PONDERING ATTITUDE NEAR HER CHIN, THEN BENDING SLIGHTLY TO INDICATE HER CHOICE) Please- (LIS SCOOPS THE ALMOND TART, PLACES IT ON ELLEN'S PLATE, TURNS TO FREDRIK QUESTIONINGLY. HE SHRUGS, INDICATING IT'S UNIMPORTANT WHAT HE GETS. THIS DURING: FREDRIK Ellen, did you know they're going to THE FAERO ISLANDS to live? ELLEN Yes, isn't it fabulous? LIS It's so romantic. The bishop offered Eric a Parish here, but he preferred to go abroad. FREDRIK Woman, do you know where the Faero Islands are? LIS Well, of course, darling. I've been to school. "The Faero Islands, once belonging to Norway, now to Denmark, lie approximately half way between the Orkney Islands and Iceland. FREDRIK The Faero Islands, my girl, are eight days by steamer from Copenhagen, and about one million miles from anything you've been accustomed to in your life. LIS THAT'S what's so exciting. Why, you've told me yourself Fredrik, how interesting it was when the Ingolf stopped there last year. FREDRIK To visit, to see, like a curiosity! Not to live there. LIS Oh! You'll have to excuse me a minute! ELLEN (AS LIS GETS UP) Now what is it? LIS (LEAVING) I forgot to get Ingrid the key to the wine-cabinet. You are going to drink to Erik and me and the big adventure. (SHE LEAVES) FREDRIK Ellen, has she lost her mind? ELLEN No, just her heart. FREDRIK (SHAKES HIS HEAD) Cream puffs. Poodles. Dresses from Christoffersen... the ROYAL THEATRE, concerts, Copenhagen. (LOOKS AROUND THE ROOM) ...All this. And from this, that blue-nose Erik Paulsen is taking her to a god-forsaken rock in the North Atlantic. ELLEN But people live there, Fredrik! FREDRIK Yes. The same way they've been living since the middle ages. ELLEN Now, Fredrik, you KNOW they'll live the Danish way in their own home. FREDRIK H'mph! How would they manage that? In a house - without water - without plumbing - no town to shop in - no theatres - libraries - restaurants -. To take Lis from this world... to that primitive wilderness ...(GIVES UP) It's a nightmare. (SUDDENLY) And Erik Paulsen. If it had been some dashing heroic type - ELLEN Heroic types do not come in any special size? As it happens, Erik is a very attractive man -- but what's even more important to a girl like Lis -- is the fact that he has purpose in his life, a noble purpose to serve the needs of others. FREDRIK H'mph. And this excuses him for dragging Lis Holbeck off to a foreign land, a million miles away? ELLEN Fredrik, darling. Marriage itself is at first a ... "far and foreign land", but many people do find it turns out to be their land of happiness, no matter where they may live. FREDRIK (NODS. HE HAS FIGURED IT OUT, TO HIS OWN SATISFACTION) Erik knows just how foreign he is to Lis's own world ... he wouldn't dare try to live here, in competition with her friends and family ... that's why he's dragging her up there, where he'll have her all to himself. ELLEN Now you're being unfair! FREDRIK We'll see. And whatever the young reverend may have by way of a motive... the result will be the same. I give the marriage.... .... five months. Three fairly good summer months, and then when the rains begin -- look for Lis to be coming home. LIS (FROM HALLWAY AND AS SHE ENTERS WITH ERIK) But it's just Ellen, and Fredrik Carstens. LOOK who's here! (FREDRIK RISES, WITH A RESIGNED OR OTHERWISE UNGALLANT LOOK. ELLEN IS CORDIAL) ELLEN Well, Mr. Paulsen! ERIK How do you do, Ellen. (THEY SHAKE HANDS, BUT HE DOES NOT KISS HER HAND) (ERIK AND FREDRIK SHAKE HANDS) ERIK How do you do, Carstens. I heard the Ingolf had come in today. FREDRIK Really? You keep up with the news better than Lis does, then. And BY the way, may I offer my . . heartiest congratulations? ERIK Thank you. Thank you very much! (HE IS FORTHRIGHT AND FRIENDLY, THOUGH A LITTLE ILL AT EASE WITH FREDRIK.) LIS (INDICATING PLACE THAT WAS HERS) Sit here, Erik dear, I'll be back in a moment - ELLEN Lis, for goodness sake, you Just GOT back - LIS I KNOW, I'm sorry, but I forgot all about the key for Ingrid - but I'll be back in a minute. (LEAVES) (FREDRIK AND ERIK ARE STILL STANDING) ELLEN PLEASE sit down, both of you. ERIK (DECIDES TO SIT, AS HE SENSES FREDRIK IS WAITING RATHER POINTEDLY FOR HIM TO SIT DOWN FIRST) I don't like to intrude like this, and cause a lot of extra trouble - ELLEN Intrude! Listen to the man! (SHE TAKES HIS CUP, POURS COFFEE FOR HIM) FREDRIK I hear you're taking a parish on the Faero. ERIK Yes --- that's right. FREDRIK It's an interesting idea, Lis against the background of those rather ... unupholstered islands. I look forward to seeing the phenomenon. ERIK (BEWILDERED) YOU ... do? FREDRIK (CORDIAL NOW, AS IF THEY WERE THE BEST OF FRIENDS) Yes! Either the Heimdal or the Ingolf is due to make a tour of inspection of the Islands this Fall, and if it turns out to be the Ingolf, I certainly will pay you a visit. ERIK (IN HIS HEART, HE IS HORRIFIED AND TERRIFIED) Oh, do that. Do that, by all means! DISSOLVE TO FILM OF DOCK ACTIVITY, THEN TO SHIP AT SEA, THEN TO SHIP APPROACHING ISLAND. DISSOLVE TO: SCENE 2: EXTERIOR, DAY. LIS AND ERIK STANDING AT THE RAIL OF THE LITTLE STEAMER TAKING THEM TO THE FAERO'S. HE IS DRESSED IN A GREAT COAT AND HAT, SHE IS IN A FITTED COAT WITH A SHORT CAPE. LIS Can you believe it, Erik? After eight days ... we're almost there! ERIK (HE IS SERIOUS. HIS CONSCIENCE IS BOTHERING HIM A BIT. HAPPY AS HE IS, HE FEELS GUILTY ABOUT HAVING BROUGHT HER TO THIS FAR LAND) Are you glad? LIS Am I glad? (LAUGHING) Of course! I can't wait to see our new home. ERIK I hope the furniture has been installed. Marja promised me it . would be ready. LIS Marja? ERIK She is our housekeeper. (PAUSE) The house we'll live in is very small -- sometimes I think I had no right to bring you up here. LIS Well, I' m glad you think it was your idea! (HE LOOKS AT HER, SHE LAUGHS AND HE SMILES, RELIEVED AND HAPPY.) ERIK (IN A MOOD OF REVERENT AND GRATEFUL HAPPINESS): Do you remember that verse from the Book of Psalms? "If I take the wings of the morning And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea Even there shall Thy hand lead me, And Thy right hand shall hold me." LIS, TOUCHED, LOOKS AT HIM IN LOVING ADMIRATION AND SYMPATHETIC UNDERSTANDING. LIS (SHE PRESSES HER CHEEK AGAINST HIS ARM. THE WIND WHIPS ABOUT THEM, PAINTING THE GRAY MIST WITH THE SOFT COLORS OF HER VEIL) "If I take the wings of the morning"! Erik, we ARE taking the wings of the morning -- I can hardly wait to see where they'll carry us! ERIK I hope to our land of happiness. DISSOLVE TO FILM OF SHIP LANDING. SCENE 3: INTERIOR DAY. DISSOLVE TO THE LIVING ROOM OF THE PARSONAGE ON SAND ISLAND. MARJA OPENS DOOR. LIS ENTERS, FOLLOWED BY ERIK, WHO IS ANXIOUSLY WATCHING HER REACTIONS. ERIK Hello, Marja -- this is my wife. MARJA Welcome to the parsonage, Mrs. Paulsen. I will bring in your hand luggage. ERIK (PROTESTING) Oh, but -- MARJA (SMILING) You will want to show Mrs. Paulsen the house. (SHE LEAVES) (THEY GO INTO LIVING ROOM. LIS IS DELIGHTED WITH THIS PRIMITIVE DOLL-HOUSE. SHE WALKS ABOUT, LOOKING THE WHOLE THING OVER QUICKLY -- THEN PAYING SPECIAL ATTENTION TO DETAILS) LIS Oh, Erik, it's enchanting. I love it. ERIK Well, I warned you, it isn't very big ... LIS Who would want it to be? How snug we'll be here! You've even remembered my dear sweet old friend from home! (SHE HAS DISCOVERED THE PORCELAIN DOG, LIFTS IT TO HER CHEEK, REPLACES IT.) Welcome to the Faero Islands! And the piano! Erik, how did they ever get the piano up that cliff! And over the heath! ERIK By ropes up the cliff, and six strong men carried it here. LIS (WARMLY APPRECIATIVE, AND GRATEFUL -- SITS) I'll always remember that when I play it ... (SHE GOES TO ERIK'S DESK IN THE NOOK) And here is where the Pastor will write his sermon, and interview his parishioners when they come to him for good advice. ERIK I only hope I can live up to the responsibilities of my position, Lis! LIS YOU? You'll more than live up to them, Erik. And I'll try to be a good wife and helper. ERIK (HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A SMALL SERMON) It is important for you to remember that you are now "the minister's wife" and people will-- (LIS CROSSES PAST HIM. STOPS, LOOKING UP INTO HIS FACE AND SMILES IMPISHLY.) ERIK People will ... what is it, Lis? What are you smiling about? LIS You know -- you're very handsome. ERIK (FROWNING) Lis. LIS But you are. You don't have to be cross about that, do you? (SHE REACHES UP TO KISS HIM. LIGHTLY ON THE CHEEK) ERIC (HE IS OVERCOME BY HIS LOVE FOR HER)(HOLDS HER CLOSE) (HE PUTS HER FROM HIM AS HE SEES MARJA IN THE DOORWAY FROM THE KITCHEN.) ERIK Yes, Marja? MARJA If the Pastor and Mrs. Paulsen will excuse me, there are people here to meet Mrs. Paulsen. LIS Here NOW? MARJA Yes, Madame. ERIK Please ask them to come in, Marja. MARJA Yes, thank you. (MARJA GOES OUT) LIS And I have no idea how I look -- ERIK (TAKING HER TO DOOR) You look fine. Come, now - (AS THE FIRST OF THE GUESTS COMES IN, TO BE FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY THE OTHERS, ERIK LEADS HIS WIFE THE FEW STEPS FROM THE NOOK; THE GUESTS LINE UP IN A ROW, AND ERIK PRESENTS LIS TO EACH IN TURN. THE FAERO-ISLANDERS ALL HAVE GREAT DIGNITY: FIRST IN LINE IS A YOUNGISH. MIDDLE-AGED MAN, THEN A LITTLE GIRL, THEN SUNNEVA AND JACOB; SIMON; YOUNG WOMAN; MAN. ERIK Good day, good day, and welcome! (THE GUESTS NOD AND MURMUR "Good day, thank you".) ERIK Johannes, this is my wife. Johannes Siggur is the Schoolmaster, Lis. LIS (SHAKING HANDS WITH HIM) (ADMIRINGLY) How do you do! A schoolmaster in Knee-breeches, how charming! At home, a schoolmaster looked like this - (SHE FROWNS, LOOKS STERN AND DOUR) (EVERYONE LAUGHS, DELIGHTEDLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY: NOT SUNNEVA, WHO MERELY SMILES STIFFLY.) SCHOOLMASTER (PLEASED) Welcome to Sand Island! LIS Thank you! ERIK Madam Sunneva of Hexfield, Lis, who has the excellent farm I've been telling you about. LIS (SHAKES HANDS) Oh, yes! How do you do, Sunneva from Hexfield! SUNNEVA We welcome Mrs. Pastor Paulsen to Sand Island. LIS Thank you very much! I'm so happy to be here! ERIK Jacob, this is my wife. Jacob is Sunneva's son - LIS Hello, Jacob! (TO SUNNEVA) How proud you must be! (SHE GIVES THE PLEASANT-LOOKING YOUNG MAN A RADIANT, COMRADELY SMILE) (STARTS TO TURN TO THE NEXT GUEST, THEN QUICKLY TURNS BACK TO LOOK AT JACOB) Do you sing, Jacob? JACOB (SMILES) Sing? Oh, like everyone else. LIS From the way you smile, I just thought you did! I'm looking forward to hearing the beautiful folksongs of your islands up here. (NOW SHE TURNS TO THE NEXT GUEST, A LITTLE GIRL) (WHOSE MOTHER HOLDS A HAND ON HER SHOULDER, LIGHTLY) (LIS STOOPS DOWN TO HER) And whom have we here? (SEES THE CHILD'S GAZE GOING TOWARD HER HAT) Oh, the hat? Would you like to see my hat? (SHE STARTS TO TAKE IT OFF. SUNNEVA TURNS AND LOOKS AT ERIC) ERIK (TURNING TO LIS) Please, Lis. LIS (STOPPING) Yes? ERIC Don't you think it is unwise to encourage a child in a vain exhibition? LIS (LOOKING UP BEWILDERED) Vain exhibition? SUNNEVA I am sure, Pastor that in time Mrs. Paulsen will learn our ways -- the ways of modesty. LIS (RISING, CONFUSED) The ways of modesty. But I was only showing my hat to the child. ERIC (SOFTLY) It is just that it is unwise, Lis, to encourage the child -- (THERE IS A SHOUT FROM OUTSIDE THEY TURN TO THE WINDOW. AT THE WINDOW ZACHARIS'S FACE IS SEEN. LIS SEES HIM, IS STARTLED, THE FACE DISAPPEARS.) LIS Erik, there was someone at the window. SUNNEVA Never mind, it was just Zacharis, no one at all. LIS No one at all? SUNNEVA He's ... (SHE POINTS TO HER TEMPLE) ... disturbed in his head. LIS But -- I -- ERIK (QUICKLY) Lis, my dear! We have our guests to think of. LIS Yes, Erik, of course. LIS Do please sit down. I want to hear a11 about your beautiful islands. I know I have a lot to learn. SCENE FADES ON SHOT OF ZACHARIS PEEKING IN AT WINDOW. C U R T A I N ACT II LEAD IN (MONTGOMERY IN LIVING ROOM) MONTGOMERY Now Act II of "Land of Happiness" starring Osa Massen. The weeks since Lis and Erik left behind thrm the comforts and security of Copenhagen have been busy ones. And difficult too -- adjusting to life in a barren wilderness many miles from home. Hardly the place, you might say, to spend a honeymoon - and one's life. (DISSOLVE TO CAFE) But Lis has written a letter to the Baroness and she is waiting to read it to Fredrik in a Copenhagen restaurant. ACT TWO SCENE 1: INTERIOR, DAY CORNER OF A COPENHAGEN RESTAURANT. TALL WINDOWS WITH VELVET DRAPERIES. EMPIRE CHAIRS. HEAVY DAMASK CLOTH. NO WATER GLASSES. FLOWERS. BARONET AND FREDRIK ARE BEING SEATED BY A WAITER. BARONESS (WAVING LETTER) Letter from Lis! FREDRIK (LOOKING AT IT, SHAKING HIS HEAD) From the Faero Islands; Poor Lis! BARONESS Ha! From Paradise. FREDRIK (SNIFFS) Does it smell of fish? BARONESS (SNATCHING IT BACK) Listen: "Sand Island, The Faero's, August second, 1895 -- My dearest Ellen. I'm writing to you from Paradise." FREDRIC Paradise? Wait until September when the rains and fogs begin. There'll be another side to the story then. BARONESS Please don't interrupt Fredric. You'll never know anyway. FREDRIC Oh but I intend getting the full story. The "Ingolf" will be stopping there this autumn. But please, go on. BARONESS (READING) "We work, too, however! Or Erik does. You never heard of a parish like this. It covers many islands, and Erik has to visit them regularly. Weddings have to wait for his arrival, and christenings and, alas, funeral services that often are held months after the dead have been buried. Strange world! Here on Sand, I often go with Erik on his calls. As you read this such a long time after it was written, think of Erik and me, if you can, trudging along a path-- DISSOLVE TO: FILM --toward some log hut in a little settlement on the heath ... This has been the most heavenly summer. I wonder if anyone has ever had a happier honeymoon, in a more fascinating place?" "Erik, the darling, gave me, as a surprise, the most beautiful little white row boat; oh not for the ocean! But for our inland sea, which we have sailed on many a moonlit night. It lies like a dream in the great lonely landscape I see from our windows here. Erik and I have sailed that sea many a moonlight night, and I would have to be Byron, Keats, Shakespeare and Hans Christian Andersen to describe to you the fairytale beauty of such an adventure.... Erik is often both doctor and spiritual mentor to these wonderful island people..... DISSOLVE TO: SCENE 2. DAY EXTERIOR OF OLD SIMON'S LOG HUT. HE IS SITTING IN THE SUNSHINE OUTSIDE HIS DOOR, AND ERIK IS INSPECTING OLD SIMON'S ARM. ERIK (HOLDING SIMON'S WRIST, CLOSELY INSPECTING THE ARM -- SIMON'S SLEEVE IS TURNED BACK -- WHERE A SORE IS HEALING) I think it's healing very well. You can put the bandage on now, Lis. ERIK TURNS ASIDE TO WASH HIS HANDS IN A LARGE BASIN. LIS I hope I can do this without hurting the patient! (OLD SIMON SMILES AT HER.) ERIK (AS HE WASHES UP) Well, Simon, how have you been doing these days? SIMON Poorly! Very poorly! I'm pains all over, and everything swings around in my head! ERIK I've heard that you were drunk yesterday. SIMON (LOW, AND HURT) Then the Pastor has heard wrong. Good people gave me a little half (HE INDICATES WITH HIS FINGERS) to ease my pain. But drunk! One doesn't get drunk on a little half. (THIS LAST, INDIGNANT) ERIK You have been a sinner, a big sinner, all your days. SIMON (MUMBLING) No worse than the others. ERIK You have never cared about God. SIMON Now how does the Pastor know that? We certainly haven't known one another very long! LIS (SHE HAS BEEN BANDAGING THE ARM, AND APPARENTLY PAYING NO ATTENTION, THOUGH AT ERIK'S STERN ACCUSATION ABOUT "BAD SINNER", SHE CAN'T HELP LOOKING AT HIM, IN HER SURPRISE AND CHAGRIN) Now! I hope that's all right. SIMON Thank you, Mrs. has a gentle hand. (HE LOOKS UP AT HER AND SMILES, BOTH MISCHIEVOUSLY AND GRATEFULLY.) ERIK (PICKING UP BASIN) I'll get you some clean water, Lis, then we'll be on our way. We have a great many more calls to make. (GOES OFF) (LIS HELPS SIMON PULL HIS SLEEVE BACK DOWN OVER THE BANDAGE. SHE LOOKS AT HIM IN GENTLE CONCERN.) LIS Do you get anything good to eat, Simon? SIMON Where would I get it from? Fish don't come flying through the air to one's door. LIS Well I think you need meat, and I'll bring you some, tomorrow. SIMON God bless you! (THIS IS SAID FERVENTLY. IT HAS SPECIAL MEANING, IT ISN'T A PHRASE USED LIGHTLY OR OFTEN BY THE ISLANDERS, NOT AS EASILY AS WE USE IT, BUT WITH MORE DEVOUT IMPLICATIONS.) Meat is a rare food indeed for poor men. LIS Just wait! You'll have meat, coffee, and cake, and we'll have a good long talk, we two! I'm sure you must have many interesting things to tell me about, and in return I'll tell YOU the news from Denmark, and Copenhagen! DISSOLVE TO: SCENE 3. DAY LIVING ROOM AT THE PARSONAGE, ERIK IS SITTING DOWN AT HIS DESK IN HIS STUDY- NOOK. HE OPENS HIS DAY-BOOK, BEGINS TO MAKE AN ENTRY. LIS COMES IN. SHE TAKES OFF HER HAT, ABSENTLY. ERIK (GLANCES AT HER) Oh! I wondered what had happened to you. LIS I stopped to see the new calf. ERIK Time for coffee, isn't it? (HE CHECKS THIS IDEA WITH HIS POCKET-WATCH, A THICK ONE WITH A LID THAT FLIPS OPEN.) LIS (SHE IS A LITTLE THOUGHTFUL; NOT BUOYANT AS USUAL.) Mm-h'm. Erik, I've been thinking ... weren't you a little harsh with poor old Simon? ERIK (TURNS TO HER) Poor old Simon? LIS It seems to me he suffers enough, without being scolded so. ERIK Why, Lis! It's a certainly even more important to save his soul than to cure his physical ills! And you can see he's a long way from God. (HE TURNS BACK TO DESK) LIS No, that I can NOT see, Erik! I can't see into people's hearts! And besides, I surely don't think you'll get anywhere by being so stern. ERIK Oh? (WE SEE ZACHARIS IN DOORWAY. HE IS CARRYING A HANDFUL OF FIELD FLOWERS, CHIEFLY GRASSES, HE SMILES HAPPILY AND RUNS OUT. LIS CROSSES SWIFTLY TO HALL. SCENE 4: INTERIOR. DAY. OPENS DOOR TO SMOKEROOM.) CUT TO: SMOKEROOM. SCENE 5: INTERIOR. DAY. LIS (CONFUSED) Did you see... MARJA Zacharis? -- Yes -- he was here; He left these for you-- (GIVES FLOWERS TO LIS) ... he is frightened easily ... he is afraid of the Pastor. LIS Oh! (SHE GOES TO HALL, MEETS ERIK. SCENE 6: INTERIOR. DAY. EXCHANGE GLANCES -- THEN LIS CROSSES TO LIVING ROOM AND PUTS FLOWERS BESIDE THE PORCELAIN DOG, SCENE 7: INTERIOR. DAY. ERIK What is it? LIS Oh, nothing at all. ERIK I saw who it was. Lis, don't you think that perhaps it might be wiser if you didn't waste so much of your time talking with the island idiot... LIS Oh, Erik! (GENTLE REPROOF AND APPEAL) He's not an idiot at all! (SHE STARTS TO BEDROOM, TAKING ONE FLOWER) ERIK (FOLLOWING) What would you call him, then? Look at the way he dresses, the way he scurries around, hiding in doorways ... he lives like a stray dog ... and afraid of the minister! LIS (SHE HAS STOPPED, NOW TURNS) You know why, dear. (GOES INTO BEDROOM, TOSSES HER HAT ONTO BED) ERIK (AFTER REACHING BEDROOM DOOR) (HE SAYS THIS QUICKLY AND ALMOST LIKE A LESSON HE KNOWS BY ROTE) I know the man lost his sweetheart years ago when she wandered out into a snowstorm after they had a quarrel -- yes -- I've heard the story many times -- I know he searched for her three days and nights and finally wandered back into town with the frozen body of his sweetheart in his arms - I realize this is what caused his madness, and I am very sorry for the poor fellow, of course. But that doesn't change the fact that he is mad. LIS (BEGINS TO SPEAK) But Erik-- MARJA (SPEAKING WITH DIGNITY AND SAGA-AUTHORITY) Zacharis would not believe his sweetheart was dead. When he saw them bury her, he fell down and lay helpless as if he were dead, too. From that day, no one ever heard him speak a word. Until now. ERIK (CURIOUS) Until now? MARJA He speaks again. But to one person only. To the only person who has ever treated him as if he were like anyone else. I think the Pastor knows who I mean. (SHE LEAVES) ERIK (REGARDS LIS FOR A MOMENT) Lis, does that poor half- wit Zacharis talk to you? LIS (CASUALLY, NOT MAKING TOO MUCH OF IT. THEREBY IMPRESSING HIM THE MORE EFFECTIVELY) Oh-h, yes ... he doesn't say a great deal. (LAUGHS) He wouldn't have much of a chance, with a talking-machine like me, would he, Erik? ERIK (HE IS IMPRESSED, BUT ALSO UNDERPLAYS IT) H'm. That's quite remarkable. But then, who could resist you, Lis? You could charm a stone into small-talk, I'm sure. LIS (SMILING) But you see, Erik, he does have a mind ... even if it's in hiding. ERIK In hiding? LIS (SERIOUS) Yes. I believe the terrible shock of that tragedy frightened his mind into hiding. Perhaps it's too late now, but if somebody had tried to help him at the time it happened, his mind might have come back completely. ERIK (SHAKES HIS HEAD) It's your kind heart, that runs away with you! LIS My kind heart? (SHE IS SPIRITED IN HER OWN DEFENSE, BUT NOT ANGRY OR TRUCULENT. SHE TAKES IT LIGHTLY) ERIK Dearest Lis, we have to be sensible, too, as well as kind. And another thing, Lis, I'm sure you didn't mean it, but you slighted a very important parishioner yesterday. LIS I did? Good gracious, what did I DO? ERIK I told you yesterday. You weren't here when Madame Sunneva from Hexfield came to call. LIS Oh THAT! But my word, Erik, I didn't know the woman was calling! ERIK Sunneva is a power in the community. We must be careful. She can't be slighted. LIS I haven't deliberately slighted her! But she impresses me as a rather stuffy person, to be perfectly frank, Erik. And I'm sure she doesn't really need a little special attention half as much as ... well, Old Simon, or Zacharis, or the old grandmothers who feel they aren't important anymore. ERIK Be practical, Lis my dearest! Where do you think the lamb roast came from that you enjoyed so much last night? LIS Erik! If I have to bow and scrape to Sunneva, or anyone else, simply because she insists on giving out largess.... Then I'll never put another bite of her unnecessary gifts in my mouth! Not another bite. ERIK (WHO KNOWS WHERE IT COMES FROM) (DRILY) Mm ... h'm... LIS Fresh Vienna cake -- however did you manage it, Marja? (SHE TAKES A PIECE AND BITES INTO IT WITH A HEARTY APPETITE) MARJA (POURING COFFEE) (ALSO DRILY) It arrived while Pastor and Mrs. Paulsen were away just now. Sunneva sent it, by her son Jacob. LIS STOPS DEAD IN THE TRACKS OF HER HAPPY EATING. LOOKS AT ERIK. HE LOOKS AT HER. SHE LOOKS AT THE BITE GONE FROM HER CAKE. SUDDENLY SHE BURSTS OUT LAUGHING AND THE SCENE FADES ON THEIR MUTUAL LAUGHTER. DISSOLVE TO FILM: FILM SHOWS MIST ROLLING ACROSS THE LAND, WAVES ROARING UP AGAINST THE BASE OF CLIFF, A LONELY LITTLE HOUSE IN A VAST AND MISTING LANDSCAPE. DISSOLVE TO INTERIOR, LIVE, SCENE 8: DAY. (RAINING OUTSIDE) LIS, AT TABLE LOOKING OUT WINDOW HAS BEEN WRITING LETTERS. SHE TURNS AND PUTS ASIDE HER PEN WITH A SIGH OR YAWN. ERIK IS AT THE DESK IN HIS STUDY-NOOK. HE LOOKS UP. ERIK Did you say something Lis? LIS H'm? No, I didn't say anything, though sometimes I wonder if I do talk to myself ... that comes from being alone so much, I guess. ERIK Alone? But you have Marja here in the house when I make my rounds. LIS Of course! (CHEERFULLY) (ERIK BECOMES AWARE THAT SHE ISN'T ABSORBED IN HER WORK) ERIK Are you doing your household accounts? LIS (SHAKES HER HEAD NEGATIVE) MM-mm. I was writing to Mother and Father, and to Ellen; I was telling them that the rainy weather is here. (ERIK SAYS NOTHING, BUT HE LOOKS WORRIED) ERIK (SUDDENLY, BRIGHTLY) Would you like me to read to you, Lis? LIS (A LITTLE SURPRISED) Read to me? ERIK Yes, I've just been catching up on the Foreign Mission Journal. There's a rather vivid account here of some fine meetings in Japan ... LIS Thank you, Erik, but I don't think it's ... exactly what I ... no thank you, dear. I have to go out to talk to Marja about supper pretty soon, anyway. ERIK (A LITTLE HURT) Very well ... THEY SIT QUIETLY. LIS BECOMES AWARE OF THE FRENCH CLOCK TICKING ON THE CHEST OF DRAWERS. SHE LOOKS AT IT. THE SOUND CHANGES - BECOMES THE MORE PORTLY TICKING OF THE BIG CLOCK AT HOME. SHE LEANS HER HEAD BACK, CLOSES HER EYES. SCENE 9: INTERIOR. DAY. SHE HEARS THE CLOCK AT HOME, STRIKING THE HOUR. THE LIVING ROOM AT HOME FLOATS INTO HER INNER VISION - IT DISSOLVES TO FREDRIK'S FACE FREDRIK The Faero Islands, my dear, are eight days by steamer from Copenhagen, and about one million miles from anything you have been accustomed to in your life. (HIS FACE DISSOLVES TO THAT OF THE BARONESS) BARONESS Marriage itself is a far and foreign country, no matter where you live. It's going to be up to you and Erik to make your marriage a happy one. (TAKE FACE OUT) LIS' VOICE I will make it a happy one -- I will! ---- I will. SCENE 10: INTERIOR. DAY. ERIK RISING AND COMING TO LIS. ERIK What is it Lis? LIS (LAUGHS A LITTLE AT HERSELF) I'm sorry -- I was just day dreaming about Copenhagen. ERIK (SITTING) (COMPASSIONATE AND GUILTY) You're homesick. LIS (SHE IS NEAR TEARS, BUT WOULD HATE TO SHOW IT. SHE RAISES HER CHIN A LITTLE, WITH A CASUALLY CONSIDERING AIR) Oh-h-h ... I wouldn't exactly say that, Erik. (LOOKS UP) Yes, Marja? MARJA (HAS APPEARED IN DOORWAY) Sunneva from Hexfield is here, she would like to see the Pastor. LIS (LOOKS TOWARD ERIK, MAKING A LITTLE FACE) ERIK (A BIT STERNLY) (TO MARJA) Ask Sunneva to come in, Marja, please. LIS RISES, AND THEY CROSS TO ARCH. SUNNEVA ENTERS WRAPPED IN HEAVY CLOAK WHICH MARJA TAKES. ERIK How do you do, Sunneva! LIS How nice of you to pay a call on such a dreary afternoon! (MARJA LEAVES) SUNNEVA It isn't exactly a call, in that sense. I have something to discuss with the Pastor. LIS Perhaps I should leave then. SUNNEVA I think it would be just as well if Mrs. Paulsen heard what I have to say. LIS (PERPLEXED, SHRUGS AND SMILES) Well, just as you wish ... ERIK Won't you sit down, please? SUNNEVA Thank you. (SHE CROSSES AND SITS STRAIGHT AND INFLEXIBLE. LIS ALSO CROSSES AND SITS) Pastor must understand I'm sorry that it's necessary for me to say what I'm going to say. But necessary it is. ERIK (CROSSES AND SITS) Well, then, I'm sure we ought to hear whatever it may be. (SUNNEVA ADDRESSES HERSELF TO THE PASTOR. IT IS AS THOUGH LIS WERE A CHILD WHO HAS NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT THIS) SUNNEVA The Pastor is a very nice man, everyone likes him. (SHE TURNS TO FACE LIS) The Mrs. Pastor is a very pretty woman, and she has won many to her side by her smiling ways. But we had hoped for a serious woman here as our Pastor's wife, not one who brings a foolish, frivolous atmosphere with her from a world we don't care about. (WHILE ERIK STARTS TO PROTEST, LIS SILENTLY RAISES A HAND TO SILENCE HIM) ERIK (SMILES WEAKLY; HE IS WORRIED, HOWEVER) Now, Sunneva, surely -- (SUNNEVA TURNS TO PASTOR) SUNNEVA Please let me speak. The Pastor cannot see his bride in the same light as I can. ERIK I don't understand-- SUNNEVA (TURNING TO FACE LIS AGAIN) Bad enough that Mrs. Pastor wasted the whole summer drifting about in her boat, or talking nonsense to old fools like Simon, or sewing gaudy beads on the clothing of Zacharis, a madman. Bad enough that she taught the young people songs and dances that have no place here. I hoped for the best, that Mrs. Pastor would learn to live up to her station, to her duties. But now, I have heard rumors from several places, that last week while you were away, your wife was seen walking across the heath with a young man. (ERIK RISES FROM HIS CHAIR) ERIK Now, please!... this is ... this is (HE DARES TO SAY IT TO HER) ridiculous. (HE LOOKS TOWARD LIS, AS IF FOR CONFIRMATION THAT IT'S JUST NONSENSE. LIS LOOKS DEEPLY DISTURBED) SUNNEVA (LOOKING DIRECTLY AT LIS) And one evening she was seen meeting this man just before dark ... Ask her! ERIK I don't have to ask my wife any such question, Sunneva. You must know this is just gossip, terrible, foolish, gossip. SUNNEVA (STILL LOOKING AT LIS) Gossip! Look at her. (LIS RISING FIRST) LIS It is true, Erik. ERIK Lis! (IT IS AN INVOLUNTARY CRY OF ANGUISH) SUNNEVA Well! At least she admits the truth. LIS And no one has told you who the young man was? SUNNEVA Does it matter? You know who he is. LIS And you don't? SUNNEVA No, I do not. That's not the important thing. LIS It should be to you, Sunneva. The young man was Jacob, your son. (SUNNEVA IS STUNNED, ERIK STARES AT LIS) END OF ACT TWO ACT III LEAD IN (MONTGOMERY IN LIVING ROOM) MONTGOMERY: Lis has learned well the problems that come with being a pastor's wife. In her case, they have been compounded many times over by the "far and foreign" nature of his parish. But her gayety and charm have won the hearts of Erik's people...with one notable, and dangerous exception. Sunneva, the island's most powerful person, has made a grave accusation against the new minister's wife. We continue with Act III of "Land Of Happiness" starring Osa Massen. ACT THREE SCENE 1: INTERIOR. DAY. WE OPEN ON THE SCENE AS WE LEFT IT AT CLOSE OF ACT TWO. ERIK IS STUNNED, SUNNEVA RISES. LIS This isn't the way I had hoped to tell either one of you about it, but that can't be helped now. (ERIK TRIES TO SAY SOMETHING, BUT CAN'T, LIZ CONTINUES ON.) Your son came to see me because he's unhappy, Sunneva, he needed help and advice. ERIK (NOW AT LAST THERE IS SOMETHING TO SAY) Why didn't he come to ME then, his Pastor? LIS You weren't here, Erik. It was last week when you were away on your trip. ERIK Couldn't he have waited till I got back? It was only a few days. LIS Perhaps he's a little afraid of you. (QUICKLY) They've already waited a long time, not knowing what to do, poor things. ERIK They? (SUNNEVA TURNS HER STONE-STILL FACE TOWARD LIS) LIS Jacob and Hanne. (EXPLAINING, TO ERIK) Hanne from east-of-island, Sunneva's youngest serving-girl. SUNNEVA What are you talking about? What about Hanne? LIS Jacob and she are in love, Sunneva. SUNNEVA My Jacob and HANNE? Ridiculous! (ERIK'S FACE HAS COME ALIVE AGAIN. HE REALIZES THE NIGHTMARE OF SUNNEVA'S ACCUSATION WAS A NIGHTMARE, AND HAS PASSED) LIS Yes, Sunneva. They're very deeply in love, they want to be married, but they know that you won't approve, at first. (SUNNEVA TURNS AND CROSSES AWAY) SUNNEVA Approve at first! Not at first or last. If there's anything to this outrageous story! ERIK But Sunneva, if my wife says so, then -- LIS (GENTLY) WHY is it outrageous, Sunneva? I've seen Hanne, I've talked to her, she's a lovely little thing. (STILL FACING AWAY, TOO EMBARRASSED TO FACE LIZ) SUNNEVA Lovely little thing! Mrs. Paulsen must know that Hanne has no name of her own -- only her mother's. LIS Can Hanne help that? (LIS LOOKS TOWARD ERIK, WHO SEEMS UNHAPPY AND UNCERTAIN ABOUT WHAT TO DO -- THEN CROSSES CLOSE TO SUNNEVA) Sunneva, Hanne is a sweet girl, a good girl. And you don't want your son's child to go through life without a name, do you? (SUNNEVA FLINCHES EXACTLY AS IF SHE HAD BEEN STRUCK) (THERE IS A MOMENT OF ABSOLUTE SILENCE) SUNNEVA Out of the house she goes. Today! LIS Oh, no! You can't ... she has no home to go to, Sunneva! SUNNEVA Is that my affair? LIS (AFTER PAUSE) (IMPULSIVELY) Then she can come here to us. (TURNS EAGERLY AND CONFIDENTLY TO ERIK) Can't she, Erik? ERIK (AWARE OF SUNNEVA'S RAGE AT THIS IDEA, AND AFRAID TO LOSE HER SUPPORT IN THE PARISH) Well, now, we'll have to think a little about this first, Lis. (NOW HE IMPULSIVELY MOVES DOWN) It's not such a simple matter to decide.... LIS Erik! SUNNEVA I am going home, now. Goodbye, Pastor. SCENE 2: INTERIOR. DAY. LIS (FOLLOWING) Please, please do wait a day or two before you do anything, Sunneva! SUNNEVA This is not something for Mrs. Paulsen to decide. (SHE IS, WITHIN THE LIMITS OF HER CODE, SCRUPULOUSLY FAIR, AND CAN'T LEAVE WITHOUT SAYING, STIFFLY) The gossip about Mrs. Paulsen was not true, then. I beg your pardon for any injustice I did you. LIS (TAKING HER HAND. EAGERLY, AT THIS SIGN OF AN HONORABLE NATURE) Oh, I'm not concerned about that now! It's so much more important that you don't do a tragic injustice to your son, and to the girl he loves! SUNNEVA (SHAKES HER HEAD WITH A TOUCH OF SADNESS BREAKING THROUGH HER SHELL) Mrs. Paulsen simply does not understand. Goodbye. (LIS GOES INTO LIVING ROOM AND CROSSES TO WINDOWS. WE HEAR DOOR CLOSE. ERIK COMES INTO VIEW AND CROSSES DOWN) SCENE 3. INTERIOR. DAY. (LIS, IN HER WORRY OVER THE YOUNG COUPLE, AND HER TERRIBLE DISAPPOINTMENT IN ERIK, CAN'T SAY ANYTHING NOW THAT THEY ARE ALONE. SHE WALKS OVER TO THE WINDOW, WE SEE THE GRAY MIST SWIRLING OVER HEATH AND MOUNTAINS. ERIK PACES, AS UNHAPPY AS SHE IS.) ERIK (TO HIMSELF, BUT HOPING THUS TO BREAK THE ICY SILENCE) It's really too bad. LIS (WHIRLS ABOUT) Oh, Erik! Why didn't you take my side! Why didn't you say that poor girl could come here to us? ERIK (NOT TURNING TO HER) Dearest little Lis, we can't always do what our hearts would like us to do. LIS I don't see why not! (CROSSES DOWN TO HIM) I'm sure they're more often right than our stuffy, important heads! ERIK But we're new to these islands, Lis. We must be careful how we intrude on ancient customs ... . LIS Even if the ancient custom in this case happens to destroy two young lives. ERIK But according to the standards among these people Hanne and Jacob belong to different worlds, - can't you understand that, Lis? LIS I can understand that Jacob and Hanne are truly in love. They wanted to be married long ago, but they were afraid of his parents. ERIK You must see this from Sunneva's side, too. This would be a disgrace for her in the eyes of the community. LIS The community! It's not the community's affair! It's Jacob's and Hanne's. Two nice young people, on this little isolated rock in the great immense Atlantic Ocean ... all they ask is to be allowed to live their lives together... and for some absolutely nonsensical reason, they aren't allowed to! I think it's stupid. And I can't TELL you how disappointed I am in you, Erik Paulsen. ERIK (HE'S HURT) I'm sorry, Lis. I have to try to do my duty as I see it. It's going to take time to solve this problem. LIS But if Sunneva sends the girl away today, there won't be any time. ERIK She can't go today. With this storm coming up, there'll be no boats out. LIS Then for once I will welcome the storm. ERIK (WITH A SIGH, DISMISSING THE DEADLOCKED SITUATION FOR NOW) Well! I have some calls to make. I'd better get started. LIS (SUDDENLY CONCERNED) You're not taking the boat out? ERIK (INTERRUPTING, GENTLY) No, I'm not going far. I'll be back soon. FILM SHOWING GATHERING STORM. THE LIVING ROOM, A LITTLE LATER. SCENE 4: INTERIOR. DAY BEFORE SCENE FADES IN, WE HEAR PIANO. LIS IS SITTING THERE IN LONELY AND UNHAPPY THOUGHT, PLAYING BEETHOVEN'S "APASSIONATA" (SONATA IN F MINOR, OPUS 57) AS SHE PLAYS, WE SEE THE BIZARRE FIGURE OF ZACHARIS SLIP INTO THE ROOM. HE SCURRIES SHADOW-STILL TO A CORNER, WHERE HE STANDS. CAP IN HAND, LISTENING IN RAPT BUT WORRIED ATTENTION. WHEN LIS, LIFTING HER HEAD AND LOOKING OUT ACROSS THE ROOM SEES HIM -- SHE IS SO STARTLED SHE GIVES A LITTLE CRY -- THEN QUICKLY SMILES. LIS Zacharis, hello! I'm glad to see you! ZACHARIS (HIS MILD EYES BEAM AT HER, BUT HE IS WORRIED ABOUT SOMETHING, AND ALSO AFRAID HE FRIGHTENED HER) Zacharis did not mean to frighten his dear girl.... LIS (LAUGHS, REASSURINGLY) Why, you didn't! I was merely daydreaming! Come, look - something new I found for your jacket! TAKES A LITTLE CARVED BOX OFF THE PIANO WHERE SHE KEEPS BUTTONS, BEADS, ETC. SHE SELECTS SEVERAL LARGE BRILLIANTLY YELLOW BEADS WHICH SHE PUTS INTO THE PALM OF HIS HAND. ZACHARIS Oh, oh! Sun pearls! Sun pearls! LIS What a lovely name! Shall we sew them on now? ZACHARIS (LOOKS AT THE PEARLS LONGINGLY, HIS HEAD TILTED. BUT THE SHADOW COMES BACK INTO HIS EYES) No, today Zacharis wants to tell his dearest girl... be careful, be very careful... LIS (PUZZLED) Be careful, Zacharis? ZACHARIS The Huldre-people, the bad spirits ... there is one of them after my dearest girl! LIS Oh, I'm SURE there isn't Zacharis. You know, we've talked about them before. They really don't exist, they-- ZACHARIS (DEAD CERTAIN) Oh, they do! And one is after you, but I will protect my girl. I will keep him away. (HE SUDDENLY LOOKS TOWARDS THE DOOR, AND LIS FOLLOWS HIS GLANCE) (FREDRIK IS IN THE DARK SHADOWS OF THE HALL BARELY DISCERNIBLE. (PHIL -- PLEASE NOTE!) THERE IS A CRY FROM ZACHARIS. ZACHARIS Huldre, huldre! The evil spirit! (HE RUNS OUT) LIS JUMPS UP FROM THE PIANO, STANDS STUNNED, THEN RUSHES TO HALL WITH AN INCREDULOUS, JOYOUS CRY! SCENE 5: INTERIOR, DAY. LIS (THROWS HERSELF INTO HIS ARMS, HER FACE AGAINST HIS SHOULDER. SHE WOULD NOT KISS HIM -- THAT WOULD BE UNTHINKABLE -- BUT IN HER JOY AND EXCITEMENT AND SURPRISE, SHE WOULD QUITE ' NATURALLY FLING HERSELF INTO HIS ARMS) Fredrik, Fredrik, Fredrik! (MARJA ENTERS) FREDRIK Lis! Lis! Let's have a look at you! THEY HOLD ONE ANOTHER OFF AT ARM'S LENGTH. LIS (LAUGHS, THROUGH GLAD TEARS) But where did you come from? How on earth-- FREDRIK With my ship, of course. The Ingolf. I couldn't convince myself you'd actually be here in this wild place until just now, when I heard you play, and saw you for myself. Am I welcome? LIS (WHO HAS BEEN LOOKING AT HIM IN AFFECTION, HUNGRILY, BECAUSE HE REPRESENTS HOME AND A WHOLE LOST WORLD) Are you welcome! Oh, Fredrik! FREDRIK Tell me, what was the apparition that flew out of here when I came in? MARJA Zacharis is very upset today. (FREDRIK TURNS TO MARJA, AND CAMERA TIGHTENS ON FREDRIK AND MARJA) He has been hovering about the house all day to guard Mrs. Paulsen against the ... evil spirits. FREDRIK (AMUSED) Do you still have evil spirits on the Islands? In spite of Pastor Paulsen? MARJA Very few people can see them. But Zacharis can. (SHE LOOKS AT FREDRIK AND LEAVES) FADE OUT FADE UP ON TABLE, SET FOR DINNER, UNDER LIT HANGING LAMP. SCENE 6: INTERIOR. NIGHT. CAMERA SHOWS CHAIR-BACKS, ONE GRIPPED BY PASTOR'S HANDS, THE OTHERS BY FREDRIK'S. THEY ARE WAITING FOR LIS, WHO IS IN THE BEDROOM, DRESSING. PASTOR'S HANDS ARE IMPATIENT. HE HAS BEEN TRYING TO KEEP UP A CONVERSATION WITH FREDRIK WHILE THEY WAIT. MARJA ENTERS WITH TUREEN) MARJA (RATHER LOUDLY) Dinner is served, any time Mrs. Paulsen is ready. (SHE LEAVES) ERIK Are you coming, Lis. The tureen is on the table! (CUT TO LIS IN BEDROOM) LIS Coming, coming, coming! It's these hooks that are such a nuisance. (CUT BACK TO THE MEN) FREDRIK (SMILING, TO ERIK) Hooks, did she say? ERIK (THIS IS UNSEEMLY TALK) On her dress, presumably. FREDRIK Oh, yes, of course! (CUT TO LIS FINISHING DRESSING) THERE HAS BEEN A SOUND, DURING THE DIALOGUE, OF FITFULLY RISING WINDS. IN THE SILENCE, THE COMING STORM IS EVIDENT. CUT BACK TO MEN FREDRIK Listen to the wind! I don't wonder the boatmen refused to take me back to Thor Harbor until tomorrow! ERIK If it were an emergency, they'd go out. THERE IS AN AWKWARD PAUSE. LIS COMES OUT, DRESSED IN ONE OF HER PARTY GOWNS, FROM HER TROUSSEAU, IT IS PALE, DELICATE, AIRY: ALIEN AND LOVELY IN THE PLAIN THOUGH COZY ROOM. ERIK INSTINCTIVELY REACTS WITH PRIDE AND PLEASURE AT SIGHT OF THIS SWEET VISION, THEN HE IS INSTANTLY JEALOUS. ALL THIS FOR FREDRIK? AND FREDRIK OF COURSE IS DELIGHTED AND ADMIRING. LIS (ENTERING) Well, shall we sit down? FREDRIK Lis! You look beautiful! A lovely butterfly on a barren rock! ERIK GIVES HIM AN IRRITATED LOOK. ERIK Aren't you going to be cold in that? LIS (LAUGHS GAYLY) Oh, Erik! How could I be, on such a festive occasion! Isn't this wonderful? Who would have dreamed that tonight we'd be having a party, with Fredrik as our guest of honour! SCENE FADES AS THEY SIT DOWN. SCENE 7: INTERIOR. NIGHT. WE FADE IN ON MARJA TAKING DISHES OFF, THEN TRUCK TO FREDRIK AND LIS AT PIANO, THEN TO ERIK IN THE PASTOR'S STUDY NOOK, PRESUMABLY WRITING HIS SERMON: THE PEN PAUSES MORE THAN IT WRITES. IT IS RAINING AGAIN. LIS (ON CUE) Oh, it makes me want to dance! FREDRIK (NODDING IN ERIK'S DIRECTION) Well, go ahead. I'll play for you two. LIS (LOOKS AROUND TOWARD ERIK, TOO. ON AN IMPULSE SHE SAYS:) Erik? ERIK (PLAYING AT BEING ABSORBED) H'm? Did you say something, Lis? (PIANO STOPS) LIS You haven't time to waltz just once with me, darling? ERIK Waltz with you? I'm writing my sermon. LIS Oh, of course! FREDRIK Are we disturbing you, Erik? ERIK Oh, no. No, not at all. (MUSIC BEGINS AGAIN) ERIK WITHOUT REALIZING IT STEALS A GLANCE AT THEM, THEN TURNS BACK TO HIS WORK. WE HEAR THE RISING STORM, THEN MARJA ENTERS. FREDRIK AND LIS SEE HIM AND STOP PLAYING. MARJA Pastor! Pastor! ERIK What is it, Marja! MARJA Two men have come from Lookout Island -- they've had an explosion. A man was hurt. ERIK (CROSSING OUT) Well, bring them in, Marja. MARJA They are in the smoke room -- they are wet, and did not want to come in here. (ERIK, WITHOUT A WORD FOLLOWS MARJA. THEY CROSS HALL AND ENTER SMOKEROOM. THERE ARE TWO FISHERMEN. SCENE 8: INTERIOR. NIGHT. ERIK There's been an explosion? 1ST FISHERMAN Yes, Pastor, we were using dynamite. Torber was hurt -- very badly. (LIS AND FREDRIK APPEAR IN DOORWAY) ERIK Then you must get the doctor. 1ST FISHERMAN Doctor couldn't do Torbin any good. It's too late for that! But he's afraid to die without the Pastor to pray over him, and we promised to bring the Pastor back with us. ERIK Tonight? 1ST FISHERMAN Tonight, yes, Pastor. We think he may not live until morning. FREDRIK (FROM BACKGROUND. THEY ALL TURN TO LOOK WHEN HE SPEAKS) Did you men come over here from Lookout Island ... in this weather? 2ND FISHERMAN (WHAT DOES THIS FINE KING'S NAVY-MAN THINK? WHEN ELSE WOULD THEY HAVE COME?) We did with a full crew. FREDRIK How in God's name did you make it in this storm? 2ND FISHERMAN (TO FREDRIK, AFTER A SPLIT SECOND'S WAIT) In God's name. (FREDRIK LEAVES) 1ST FISHERMAN When can you be ready, Pastor. ERIK When can I ... but if the storm is worse than when you came over -- and you have wives and children, most of you. Why take the risk? 1ST FISHERMAN We promised Torben, Pastor. ERIK Yes, I know, I realize that, but ... if he is beyond help-- LIS (QUICKLY, PUTTING HER HAND ON THE ARM OF ONE OF THE MEN) There'll be time for coffee and food, you must have something before you go back. Marja will take care of you -- 1ST FISHERMAN (LIKE ALL THE ISLANDERS, HE RESPONDS WITH GRATITUDE TO LIS'S GENTLENESS AND WARMTH. HE SENSES HER UNDERSTANDING) Many thanks to Mrs. Paulsen. (TO ERIK) We're ready to go whenever the Pastor is. ERIK DOESN'T ANSWER, ABOVE. HE IS DEEP IN THOUGHT, WORRY, FEAR. HE CROSSES OUT TO LIVING ROOM, FOLLOWED BY LIS. SCENE 9. INTERIOR. NIGHT. ERIK (AFTER REACHING L. R.) It seems so terrible, to risk so many other lives when the poor fellow over there is apparently already beyond hope ... it' s a dreadful decision to have to make. LIS (SHE IS TENSE; TRIES TO SOUND CALM) You don't have to make the decision for anyone but yourself, Erik. Those eight men out there are going back, no matter what. FREDRIK I know something about the sea -- and this storm is bad and if the man is beyond hope -- but of course, as their Pastor you must go ... and take the risk. I will look after Lis. LIS IS IN AN AGONY 0F FEAR THAT HE WILL FAIL TO LIVE UP TO HIS DUTY; THERE IS A SILENCE IN THE ROOM, DURING WHICH WE HEAR THE STORM ROAR. FREDRIK LOOKS TOWARD THE WILD, TORN NIGHT OUTSIDE. ERIK I must set out immediately. (HE CROSSES OUT) FREDRIK CROSSES TO LIS AND STARTS TO TAKE HER IN HIS ARMS. FREDRIK Lis! (SHE PULLS AWAY AND CROSSES) You really love him don't you? I'll be at my lodging if you need me. LIS Thank you, Fredrik. DISSOLVE TO: FILM STORM SCENES. DISSOLVE TO SMOKE-ROOM; SCENE 10: INTERIOR. NIGHT MARJA IS SITTING AT FIRESTEAD, LOOKING INTO SMOULDERING EMBERS. SHE LOOKS UP. CUT TO LIS AT WINDOW. LIS WILL HAVE THROWN A WOOLEN SHAWL OVER HER SHOULDERS. MARJA Mrs. Paulsen doesn't think it would be better to try to get a little sleep? (AS THERE IS NO ANSWER, SHE SHAKES HER HEAD THEN SPEAKS A LITTLE LOUDER) LIS Oh, Marja! Tell me the truth! This is one of the worst storms you've ever known, isn't it? MARJA Oh, bless your heart, no! Bad, but not the worst. LIS COMES BACK TO SIT IN THE CHAIR OPPOSITE MARJA'S. THIS CHAIR DOES NOT FACE WINDOW. MARJA'S DOES. MARJA The time my sweetheart was lost. That was the worst... (LOOKING OFF) Or maybe it only seems so, because it took him away from me. MARJA SITS QUIETLY A MOMENT. HER KNITTING IN HER LAP. SHE SPEAKS WITHOUT SENTIMENTALITY, AND NO SELF-PITY. MARJA It is now so long, long ago. THEY SIT SILENT WITH THE STORM RATTLING AT THE HOUSE. LIS WAITS FOR HER GO TO ON. MARJA The day he set out with the other fishermen ... A storm came up about sundown. I couldn't sleep that night. I lay on my bed, staring at the window. And then suddenly I did know he would never come back . There he was.... LIS IS INVOLUNTARILY STARTLED BY THIS STRANGE STATEMENT -- MARJA LOOKS TOWARD THE WINDOW WHERE LIS HAD STOOD. LIS ALMOST TURNS, TOO: LIS There he was... MARJA I saw his face clearly .... and I knew the ocean had taken him. This happens. There is a brief time, when someone is taken, before they go over to the other side. During that time, they can visit the one they love, to say goodbye. LIS (GENTLY) Of course you know that's just a superstition, Marja dear. MARJA Perhaps in other parts of the world that may be. But here it is true. THERE IS A KNOCK, AND A DOOR CREAKS OPEN. BOTH MARJA AND LIS ARE STARTLED -- LIS JUMPS UP. IT IS SIMON, IN A RAIN-SOAKED COAT AND THE FAERO STOCKING-CAP. LIS Simon! SIMON I heard the Pastor had gone to Lookout Island in the storm, and I thought perhaps the ladies might need someone to help. LIS Simon, how sweet of you! Come, give me your wet coat. SHE HELPS HIM OUT OF HIS COAT. SIMON Now I didn't come to make trouble! Just to talk -- LIS Trouble! You were an angel to come here, and thru this storm! LIS HANGS COAT ACROSS CHAIR, SHE LOOKS AT SIMON, AND IN SAME INSTANT PAST HIM, SHE SEES A FACE AT THE WINDOW. SHE SCREAMS - A PROLONGED AND ANGUISHED CRY. WE SEE THE FACE, DIMLY. IT IS, IN FACT, ZACHARIS, BUT WE MUST NOT SEE HIM CLEARLY ENOUGH TO BE SURE OF THIS. IT DISAPPEARS QUICKLY, BEFORE SIMON CAN TURN TO SEE WHAT FRIGHTENED HER. HE STEPS TO HER, SHE STANDS WITH HER HANDS TO HER FACE; AND WHEN HE PUTS HIS ARM AROUND HER, SHE PRESSES HER FACE AGAINST HIS SHOULDER. SIMON What is it, what is it? MARJA What happened? LIS The window! I saw his face at the window! My husband is lost, he'll never come back! MARJA Oh, dear God in heaven help us all! (FADE OUT) FADEUP FILM A SEASCAPE WITH THE DAWN JUST BEGINNING. DISSOLVE TO THE SMOKE ROOM. SCENE 11: INTERIOR DAY. (RAIN STOPPED) LIS SITTING, HER HEAD IS BOWED ON HER ARMS, MARJA IS AT THE WINDOW. MARJA SUDDENLY SWINGS WINDOW OPEN, LOOKS OUT. NOW ZACHARIS'S FACE APPEARS, LOOKING PAST MARJA, TOWARD LIS, EAGERLY, HAPPILY. MARJA Zacharis! LIS (AS SHE SEES WHO IT IS, SHE GETS UP, SLOWLY, WALKS TO WINDOW) Zacharis ... (THERE IS A WONDERING TONE IN HER VOICE) MARJA STEPS BACK AS LIS COMES TO THE WINDOW. ZACHARIS (SECRETIVELY) Morning! Boat is coming, boat is coming home! LIS (A CRY, INCREDULOUS, YET JOYFUL BECAUSE SHE KNOWS INSTANTLY IT MUST BE TRUE) The boat is coming! MARJA Are you sure, man? (SIMON LEAVES) ZACHARIS The evil spirit didn't get near this house ... he did not take my dearest girl away .... Zacharis watched, Zacharis watched every door and window to keep him out. LIS Oh, Zacharis! (SHE IS NEAR BOTH TEARS AND TEARFUL LAUGHTER) Then it was your face I saw at the window! HE BEAMS AND SHE REACHES BOTH HER HANDS OUT TO TAKE HIM BY BOTH HIS HANDS. LIS Oh, thank you, thank you, for bringing us this wonderful news! SIMON (COMING IN) The Pastor is here. (LIS RUNS TO THE HALL) SCENE 12: INTERIOR. DAY CUT TO: - HALL AS LIS GOES OUT. [ERIK] STILL WEARS HIS SHINING WET OILSKIN COAT, AND NOW HE REALIZES IT WILL RUIN HER CLOTHES. LIS Oh, Erik, Erik, Erik. You're here, you're really here, safe and sound! Thank God you're back! ERIK Lis, last night, when I saw Torben die ... taken from his wife and children ... I knew you were right. Life is brief, and precious. You were right. I'm going to talk with Sunneva about Jacob and Hanne. They will be married. LIS (WITH DEEP AND HUMBLE SERIOUSNESS) Thank you. ERIK Lis, I've put you through a lot --- I must have been blind --- or perhaps I didn't want to see the truth. I'm going to write to the Bishop today ... I'll take that parish they offered me at home in Denmark. Then we can leave as soon as they get a new pastor to take over. LIS ... Is that what YOU want? ERIK You do want to go home? LIS But we are home! Last night I learned that as long as we have each other, whether life be rough or tender, any place can be our land of happiness. (THEY EMBRACE) (FADEOUT) END OF ACT III TELOP #14 "ROBERT MONTGOMERY PRESENTING" TELOP #15 "YOUR LUCKY STRIKE THEATRE" DISS TO: MONTGOMERY "Land of Happiness" with Osa Massen, John Newland and Robert Wark. I think it's interesting to note that we are now in the fifth year of this series. This is our 151st production. A11 of this is possible, of course, because of the makers of Johnson's Wax and Lucky Strike cigarettes, our alternate sponsors. Next week, the makers of Johnson's Wax bring you a stirring drama. We'll tell you about it in just a moment but here's the reason why housewives everywhere say their housework has become easier. DISSOLVE TO GLO COAT COMMERCIAL ... FADE IN: MONTGOMERY MONTGOMERY Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Osa Massen. Osa, I want to thank you very, very much for a wonderful job -- MASSEN Thank you! MONTGOMERY -- and thank you for being here with us. And we hope that you'll come back again. Also I wish to thank John Newland and Robert Wark for two very fine performances. Next week, ladies and gentlemen, it is our pleasure and honor to present Walter Hampden in a play entitled "Such A Busy Day Tomorrow." It's the story of an old man fighting the battle of the aged - seeking recognition in a world that has passed him by. Be with us then, and remember, Be Happy, Go Lucky. Thank you and good night.